International Parcel Delivery | Blog

Free trade between the UK and Canada: CETA to CUKTCA

Written by Timothy Byrnes | December 11, 2020

Canada and the UK have an agreement to protect the over $25 billion in trade with a continuation of CETA via the Canada-UK Trade Continuity Agreement / TCA. The CUKTCA came into effect in April 2021.

Some background on UK Canada Free Trade

  • Trade between Canada and the United Kingdom is covered by the CUKTCA
  • The UK is Canada's largest merchandise export market in Europe and key source of foreign, direct investments.
  • The United Kingdom announced the application of the Most Favoured Nation / MFN tariffs (UK Global Tariff / UKGT) which apply to "non origin: Canadian exports
  • UK is among the largest markets for online orders from Canada. Contact Jet for shipping your UK online orders direct from Canada.

Disclaimer: The information in all Jet Worldwide online content, including this post, is for general information only.

HOW TO BENEFIT WITH DUTY FREE IMPORT UK AND CANADA

The Canada UK Trade Agreement (CUKTCA) is a free trade agreement between the UK and Canada. It is essentially a continuation of the European Canada Free trade act following Brexit.

READ MORE: CERTIFICATION OF ORIGIN AND WHY IS NEEDED

Expand your cross border opportunity with Jet’s professionals. 

A trusted brand for over 40 years. Save more by utilizing the best shipping modes and processes. Strengthening your transportation team - even if you are a team of one!  Contact our team for a consultation.

CUFTA benefits for Canadian exporters to UK

The Canada UK free trade agreement continues the benefits of the European free trade agreement prior to Brexit. For Canadian exporters this gives the opportunity to import Canadian origin goods duty-free. Keep in mind that just shipping from Canada is not the same as shipping. Canadian origin goods.  Read more: Understanding country of origin.

To take advantage of duty-free import to the UK qualifying goods must include a certification statement and or a certificate of origin. We recommend including both.

Best method of shipping between Canada and the UK

The best method of shipping to and from Canada depends on several factors. In general, local post is best for small personal shipments. Moving specialists is best for household moves.

For commercial shipments, economy courier via air is best for up to around 100 kg. Heavier shipments can be sent via a freight forwarder.  Shipments of one or several pallets can usually benefit from lower cost ocean freight (less than container). Read more about ocean freight shipping to and from Canada.

  Country from where goods were shipped versus country of origin

UK import fees explained in detail

Most Common Canadian Import Fees to consider

Shipping Online Orders from Canada to the UK

Canadian sellers - including those using Shopify and eBay - can now ship their orders direct to the UK via Jet's direct shipping solution. Contact our team for details on shipping your orders direct to the UK for low cost delivery, tracking, and no charges to the consignee.

READ ABOUT PREPAYMENT OF VAT FOR ONLINE ORDERS TO THE UK

Managing Canadian Amazon Removal Orders back to UK

Simplified processing for your customer: A Canadian address,  consolidation and shipping back to the USA via low cost ground.

Contact our team (see form below) for Canadian returns of your online orders. Read more about a solution for your Canadian removal orders

Download accompanying PDF

Moving forward from the CETA to the TCA

The Canada-U.K. TCA provides Canadian and UK businesses with continued preferential access for goods shipped between both countries. Canada and the U.K. are engaging in future negotiations on a more permanent bilateral free trade agreement that could include the U.K. potentially joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

The TCA is essentially meant as a "rollover" deal. Although there is not sunset date per se, the text of the TCA alludes to a conclusion of a more permanent - and less transitional - trade deal by 2024.

Shipping parcels and online orders to the to the UK

Many of the online parcel orders shipped from Canada and the UK do not otherwise benefit from duty-free import as the merchandise is often not a product of/ manufactured in either the UK and Canada. Jet Worldwide works with online retailers to best benefit from preferential duty-free status when possible, along with taking advantage of de minimis values and bulk import processes.

Download PDF accompanying the video

Delivery between the UK and Canada via Jet Worldwide

Jet Worldwide: A trusted brand offering international shipping for over 40 years!
  • Jet Worldwide offers options for shipping between the UK and Canada for parcels, pallets, and online orders.
  • Jet Worldwide offers transparency and logistics support. Fill in form below for rates and logistics support.

UK Most Favoured Nation For Canadian Origin Versus UKTCA

The UK Most Favoured Nation (MFN) tariff rates are the default duties applied to imports from all countries to the UK, including Canada. Under the Canada-UK Trade Continuity Agreement (UKTCA) Canadian origin goods may qualify for a preferential -duty free - tariff.

READ MORE: UNDERSTANDING IMPORT DUTY AND HOW IT IS CALCULATED.

  • Tariff preferences under UKTCA apply to goods imported from Canada that meet the rules of origin under this agreement.
  • The MFN tariff rates of The European Union apply to goods imported from Canada that do not meet the rules of origin (non-originating goods) under UKTCA.

See sample form to declaration of origin (Fillable PDF to download). Note that while the regulations do not mandate a specific format, it is recommended that - in addition to a separate declaration - to also include a certification statement on the invoice to ensure preferential duty free consideration at time of import.

The required origin declaration may be provided on an invoice or any other commercial document which describes the originating product in sufficient detail to enable its identification. In order to claim the preferential tariff treatment, importers must have in their possession the origin declaration completed by the exporter as well as any necessary permits.

European delivery to the UK but not to the EU via the UK

As European online orders from Canada and US retailers grows, new strategies are necessary to serve the UK market (the largest market for most North American retailers) and the EU market (one of the world's largest consumer market).

  • Online orders to the UK valued under £135: duty free but subject to VAT.

Jet Worldwide works with Canadian and European retailers to ship directly from Canada and the US for low cost last mile delivery to Europe, the UK, Japan, Australia, China and all the world's major economies.

Know your borders to better cross them

Political rhetoric aside, the implementation of new free trade agreements - including the new NAFTA/USMCA, the CPTPP, the CETA and, now, the TCA - recognize the value of cross-border trading for global and local economies. On line commerce requires a new perspective and understanding from online merchants. Benefiting from Canada's Free Trade Agreements.

Rather than importing a container with thousands of one single item, shipping online requires a single entry for thousands of different items. Contact Jet Worldwide's team to build secure parcel logistics processes for online orders to the UK and the EU from Canada and the USA.

Getting a quote for shipping between the UK and Canada.

Jet Worldwide gives access to all companies seeking shipping quotes from Canada to the UK for parcels pallets, and online orders.

Contact our team: For a quote for shipping online orders, provide details including shipping volume, item(s) being shipped, average value and weight of each parcel. The more details the better :). See form below.

Simplified origin certification for UK-origin goods to Canada

Goods manufactured (and otherwise qualifying) in one of the over 30 countries that Canada has a free trade agreement with can be imported duty-free. Hopefully, the UK will be included in this list under TCA.

Most relevant for online orders shipped via parcel carriers, qualifying goods valued under CAD 3,300 require a simple origin statement.

The value for duty amount for all of Canada's free trade agreements for which the proof of origin / certificate of origin is waived was changed to CAD 3,300 in July 2020.

For imports not exceeding CAD 3,300 to Canada, the requirement for proof of origin is waived. The requirement on the importer to maintain records (for example, commercial invoice and B3) applies even if the CBSA does not require a certification of origin or if a requirement for a certification of origin has been waived.